spilled potions and new emotions
by whimsicalMedley
Summary: 4th year Hufflepuff Ben Jones was known as an oddity throughout Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was loud, outspoken, and on top of that, muggleborn. Ben himself didn't mind his reputation. He saw himself as a normal wizard. He had friends, a mountain of homework he ignored, and a crush on a girl he'd never spoken to...until he spills a potion all over her. Oh no.


**WHOOPS HERE I AM POSTING A SELF INDULGENT SELF INSERT OF MY FRIENDS AND I AT HOGWARTS**

 **note: i'll be following the HP plot too, so expect appearances from our faves!**

 **enjoy!**

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Ben was running late again.

It was Monday, he was tired, and his roommates didn't really like him, so they didn't bother to wake him up. He missed breakfast (which was a damn shame), and now he was going to be late to potions, and Professor Snape was going to have his ass for this, and—

Ben burst into the potions room, and the room went silent. Professor Snape stood in the middle of the room, his lips pulling back into a sneer when he heard the interruption. Ben's fellow Hufflepuffs held their breath and looked on in sympathy.

"How nice of you to join us, Miss Jones." He said lowly, and Ben tried not to wince.

 _Miss._

"Excuse me, sir," a cold voice piped up, "but his name is Ben, and he's a boy."

Ben couldn't help the breath of relief he let out as his best friend and fellow Hufflepuff, Caroline Smith, eyed their professor angrily. Professor Snape glared at Caroline, and although she turned pink, she didn't back down.

"She's right. Ben has been out for a year. You should know by now." Santina Herd, Ben's other best friend called out suddenly, and Ben was suddenly _really_ grateful for his friends.

The rest of the 4th year Hufflepuffs were glaring at Professor Snape now, daring him to disagree. Gritting his yellow teeth, he turned towards Ben. Ben stuck his chin out, refusing to let it slide.

"Fine then, _Mister_ Jones. Twenty points from Hufflepuff for being late, and for your classmates' outbursts."

"Of course, _Professor."_ Ben replied with a glare. Taking a seat next to Caroline, the fourteen year old let his angry expression drop.

"You alright?" Caroline whispered inconspicuously, and Ben nodded silently.

"Thanks for that. Really." Ben replied, and Caroline smiled at him brightly.

Class droned on as always. Ben, as he was wont to do, began to drift away from Professor Snape's lecture. His green eyes scanned the room, watching as everyone seemed to be either not paying attention at all, or trying to stay awake. Eventually, Ben's eyes landed directly in front of him, and his pale cheeks colored a bright pink.

"Already staring at her? Really?" Caroline snickered, and Ben discreetly elbowed her.

The girl that Caroline was referencing was, of course, Emerald Winters. Emerald was a Ravenclaw, and that meant that Ben hadn't talked to her once. She had pale skin, deep brown eyes framed by a pair of glasses, and the tips of her long brown hair were currently colored blue. Emerald had no idea that Ben existed, but Ben had been infatuated since he saw her on the train in first year.

"Shut up." Ben hissed with a glare, and Caroline giggled.

"I thought you should know we're starting a potion, considering you're my partner."

Ben swore under his breath, and muttered a quick apology as he hurriedly opened his potions textbook.

The potion seemed simple enough. Soon, the classroom was filled with the sound of boiling potions. Ben and Caroline were good potioneers on their own, and when combined, they were even better. Caroline chalked this up to the fact they both loved to cook, and when you got down to it, potion making was based on the same principles.

As the pair finished their antivenom, Ben poured a bit into a vial to give to Professor Snape. He was pretty proud of this one, and so was Caroline. Laughing at a joke Caroline had whispered to him, Ben turned to walk towards the front of the room.

That's where it went downhill.

A chair pushed back suddenly, and Ben found himself tripping over it. In order to make sure he didn't fall on his ass, Ben threw his arms out and made a grab for the nearest table. He watched in horror as his potion flew out of his hands and spilled all over Emerald Winters herself.

 _Oh Merlin,_ he thought, _I really just did that._

Emerald's eyes were wide as she looked down at her ruined robes, and then back up to Ben. Ben knew his face must've been one of abject horror, and he knew for a fact his cheeks were as red as tomatoes.

"I'm _so_ sorry, oh god I didn't mean to do that—"

"Making a mess, Mister Jones?" A voice interrupted, and Ben froze.

"He didn't mean to, Professor." Emerald replied with a bit of irritation in her tone, and Ben bit his lip. He turned to Caroline, whose face was red from holding in her laughter.

Sending her a death glare, Ben cleared his throat as Professor Snape told Emerald to go to the Hospital Wing in case she got any on her skin.

"I'll go with her. It's my fault after all." Ben heard himself say, and automatically wanted to hit his head on a wall. Seriously?

"Very well," Professor Snape said distastefully, "be on your way."

Ben quickly grabbed his belongings, ignoring the sly looks Caroline _and_ Santina were shooting him. Traitors.

As the pair exited the dungeons, Ben took a deep breath.

"I'm really sorry Emerald." He said, and she turned towards him curiously.

"How do you know my name?" She asked, and Ben started to panic. Shit. Shit shit shit, how could he cover his tracks? Good job, Ben. Great job.

"I uh. Um. It's a small classroom and I'm really good with names. Yeah." He replied, and after a moment, Emerald nodded. Ben released a breath of relief.

"Well, nice to meet you…Ben, was it?" She asked, and Ben nodded.

"Yep. Ben Jones. Nice to meet you too, Emerald!" He replied, and Emerald smiled at him, which might've made him melt a bit. Running his fingers through his short blond hair, Ben looked away quickly.

They walked in silence until they reached the Hospital Wing. When they entered, Madame Pomfrey made a beeline towards them. She looked Emerald over once, and then turned to Ben, a small smile on her face.

"Back again are we, Mister Jones?" She asked kindly, amusement in her tone. Ben flushed.

"Not for me this time, Madame Pomfrey." He sighed, and the matron laughed.

Ben took a seat while Emerald was led to a bed, and let the whole situation sink in. Of course he'd be the one to spill a potion all over his crush when they'd never had a proper conversation. Of course.

 _Nice job Jones._

"Ugh." He whispered, bouncing his leg absentmindedly. After a few minutes, Emerald was walking towards him, a small smile on her face.

"Good as new." She said, gesturing to her now dry robes.

"I'm so sorry, really, I'm extremely clumsy and I wasn't looking." Ben said sheepishly, and Emerald smirked.

"Madame Pomfrey said that." She confided with a laugh, and Ben felt his cheeks go pink.

"Of course she did." He sighed, remembering all the times he'd been sent to the Hospital Wing over stupid things. Emerald cleared her throat and gestured towards the door, and Ben silently followed.

"Anyway," Emerald said as the bell rang for their next class, "I'll see you later, Ben."

Ben couldn't help the smile on his face as he stuttered out an affirmation.

 _Holy shit._

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 **tumblr: ya-boi-benny**


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